Perfect 10 Inc v. Google Inc et al

Filing 647

MEMORANDUM in Opposition to MOTION for Sanctions Against DEFENDANT GOOGLE, INC. - NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION OF PLAINTIFF PERFECT 10, INC. FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS AGAINST DEFENDANT GOOGLE, INC. AND/OR FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF A SPECIAL MASTER #617 Defendant Google Inc.'s Corrected Opposition to Plaintiff Perfect 10, Inc.'s Motion for Evidentiary and Other Sanctions Against Google and/or for the Appointment of a Special Master [PUBLIC REDACTED] filed by Counter Claimant Google Inc, Defendant Google Inc. (Herrick, Rachel)

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Perfect 10 Inc v. Google Inc et al Doc. 647 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART OLIVER & HEDGES, LLP Michael T. Zeller (Bar No . 196417) michaelzeller@quinnemanuel.com 865 South Figueroa Street , 10th Floor Los Angeles, California 90017-2543 Telephone : 213) 443-3000 Facsimile : (213)443-3100 Charles K. erhoeven . (Bar No. 170151) charlesverhoeven @ ulnnemanuel.com 50 California Street, 2nd Floor San Francisco ? California 94111 Rachel Herrick Kassabian (Bar No. 191060) rachelkassabian quinnemanuel.com 555 Twin Dolphin rive, Suite 560 8 Redwood Shores , California 94065 9 Attorneys for Defendant GOOGLE INC. 10 11 12 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CASE NO. CV 04- 9484 AHM (SHx) r Consolidated with Case No. CV 054753 AHM (SHx)] DEFENDANT GOOGLE INC.'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PLAINTnFVn RFECT 10, INC.'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS AGAINST GOOGLE ANDIOR FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF A SPECIAL MASTER Hon. A. Howard Matz Date : December 21, 2009 Time : 10:00 a.m. Place : Courtroom 14 Discovery Cut-off: None Set Pre-trial Conference : None Set Trial Date : None Set 13 PERFECT 10, INC., a California corporation , 14 Plaintiff 15 vs. 16 GOOGLE INC. a corporation; and 17 DOES 1 throuj^ 100, inclusive, 18 19 AND COUNTERCLAIM 20 21 22 23 V s. Defendants . PERFECT 10, INC., a California corporation, Plaintiff, 24 AMAZON.COM, INC., a corporation; A9.COM, INC. a corporation; and 25 DOES 1 through 100, inclusive, 26 27 28 01980.51.320/3232216,2 PUBLIC REDACTED Defendants. GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS Dockets.Justia.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PRELIMINARY STATEMENT ................................................................................... I ARGUVIENT .................................................................................................................1 1. PIO'S REQUEST FOR SANCTIONS IS GROUNDLESS .......................... A. B. C. D. E. F. Google Has Produced its "DMCA Logs." ............................. ............. 5 Google.Has Produced Documents Regarding Its Repeat Infringer Policies ...................................................................................................... 8 P 10 Never Requested Third-Party DMCA Notices .................................. 9 Google Has Produced Notices Of Termination Of Repeat Infringers .................................................................................................10 Google Did Not Violate The May 22, 2006 Order With Respect to Board Meeting Minutes .......................................:...................................10 Google Did Not Violate The May 13, 2008 Order With Respect to Reports Pertaining To Certain Custodians ..............................................11 G. There Is No Discovery Order Requiring The Production of Communications Between Google And Third Party DMCA Complainants And Infringers ..................................................................11 II. P I O'S MOTION, FILED WITHOUT LEAVE OF COURT, VIOLATES MULTIPLE COURT ORDERS AND THE LOCAL RULES ......................... 12 A. B. P 10's Motion Is An Improper Sur-reply .................................................12 P10's Motion Is An Improper Attempt To Revive Its Stayed Cross-Motion For Summary Judgment Regarding DMCA Safe Harbor ......................................................................................................14 III. 23 24 25 IV. TO THE EXTENT P 10' S MOTION IS CONSTRUED AS A "RULE 56(F) MOTION," IT IS UNTIMELY AND MERITLESS ........................ ..15 A. B. P I O's Claims For Additional Discovery Are Untimely ..........................15 P10 Discovery Request Does Not Comply With Rule 56(f) ..................16 EVEN IF THE COURT CONSIDERS P 10' S IMPROPERLY-RAISED SUBSTANTIVE ARGUMENTS, NONE HAVE MERIT ...............................17 A. Google's AdSense DMCA Tracking Spreadsheets Are Not Deficient ..................................................................................................17 26 27 28 01980 .5132013232216.2 -iGOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS B. C. V. VI. 6 7 Google's Blogger DMCA Tracking Spreadsheets Are Not Deficient .................................................................................................. 19 P10 ' s Allegations Of Inconsistencies Between Google ' s Tracking Spreadsheets And Other DMCA Documents Are Incorrect ................... 19 PIG'S REQUEST FOR A SPECIAL MASTER IS UNWARRANTED AND UNNECESSARY .................................................................................... 20 PERFECT 10 SHOULD BE SANCTIONED ...................................................21 CONCLUSION .................... 01980 . 51320/3232216 .2 II _ _11- GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Page Cases Am. Stock Exch., LLC v. Mopex, Inc., 215 F.R.D. 87 (S.D.N.Y. 2002) ................................................................................ 2 Arista Records LLC v. Usenet. com, Inc. 633 F. Supp. 2d 124 (S.D.N.Y. 20095 ......................................................................2 B. K. B. v. Maui Police Dept, 276 F.3d 1091 (9th Cir. 2002) ................................................................................ 21 Bermudez v. Duenas, 936 F.2d 1064 (9th Cir. 1991) .................................................................................7 Brae Transp., Inc. v. Coopers & Lybrand, 790 F.2d 1439 (9th Cir. 1986) ...............................................................................16 CFTC v. Noble Metals, Intl, 67 F.3d 766 (9th Cir. 1995) .......................... ......................................................2 Cal. Union Ins. Co. v. Am. Diversified Sav. Bank, 914 F.2d 1271 (9th Cir. 1990) ................................................................................16 Chance v. Pac-Tel Teletrac Inc., 242 F.3 d 1151 (9th Cir. 2001) ................................................................................16 Combs v. Rockwell Intl Cor ., 927 F.2d 486 (9th Cir. 1991) .................................................................................... 2 Continental Air Lines, Inc. v. Group Systems Intern. Far East, Ltd., 109 F.R.D. 594 (C.D. Cal. 198) ............................................................................21 DISC Intellectual Properties LLC v. Delman, 2007 WL 4973849 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 17, 2007) .................................................12, 13 Employers Teamsters Local Nos. 175 and 505 Pension Trust Fund v. Clorox Co., 353 F.3d 1125 (9th Cir. 2004) ................................................................................16 Filiatrault v. Comverse Technology, Inc., 275 F.3d 131 (1st Cir. 2001) ...............................................................................4,,15 4 In re IrvinggAustin Bldg. Corpp . 100 F.2d 574 (7th Cir. 1938) ..................................................................................20 La Buy v. Howes Leather Co., 352 U.S. 249 reh' denied 352 U.S. 1019 1957 27 28 01980 .51320/3232216.2 -111- Logan v. Gary Community Sch. Corp., 2009 WL 187811 (N.D. Ind. ran. 23, 2009) .............................................................2 GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT 10'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS Mackey V. Pioneer Nat`l Bank, 867 F.2d 520 ( 9th Cir. 1989) ..................................................................................16 Nat'l Ass'n o Radiation Survivors v. Turnage, 115 F.R. . 543 ( N.D. Cal. 1987) ...........................................................................20 Precision Seed Co. v. Consolidated Grain & Barge Co., 2006 WL 1339430 ( S.D. Ohio May 16, 2006 ) ................................................... 7,,10 7 Reilly v. Natwest Markets Group, Inc., 181 F.3d 253 (2d Cir . 1999) ..................................................................................... 2 Rodriguez - Cuervos v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 181 F.3d 15 (1st Cir. 1999) .....................................................................................15 Spalding Labs ., Inc. v. Arizona Biological Control, Inc., 2008 WL 2227501 ( C.D. Cal. May 29 , 2008 ) .................................................. 12,13 United States v. Kahaluu Constr. Co., Inc., 857 F.2d 600 ( 9th Cir. 1988) .................................................................................. 21 Wanderer v. Johnston, 910 F.2d 652 (9th Cir. 1990) ................................................................................ 3,4 Ward v. Nat'l Geograpphic Soc y, 2002 WL 27777 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 11, 2002) ...............................................................2 Washin gton v. Garrett 10 F:3d 1421 ( 9th 6r. 1993 ) ................................................................................... 8 Young v. Polo Retail, LLC, 207 WL 951821 (N.D. Cal.. March 28, 2007) ......................................................21 Statutes 17 U.S.C. §512 ............................................................................................................14 Fed R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1) ...................................................................................................8 Fed. R. Civ. P. 53 .........................................................................................................20 Fed. R. Civ. P. 53(a)(1)(C) ..........................................................................................20 Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(f) .....................................................................................4, 15, 16, 17 12 Local Rule 7-10 ......................................................................................................12, ,13 27 28 . 0198051320/3232216.2 GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS PreliminaLy Statement Perfect I O's ("P 10") Motion for Evidentiary and Other Sanctions (the "Motion") fails to establish even a single legitimate discovery dispute-let alone any repeated, prejudicial violations of Court orders that are a prerequisite to the extraordinary evidentiary sanctions P 10 demands. Indeed, the Motion's primary claim-that Google failed to produce its "DMCA log" and other DMCA-related documents-is demonstrably false. P I O's Motion is an improper attempt to reopen briefing on Google's motions for summary judgment regarding DMCA safe harbor ("DMCA Motions"), and to resurrect its own DMCA cross-motion for summary judgment. None ofPIO's arguments is "newly discovered," as P 10 claims. To the contrary, many of them are simply a re-hash of arguments P10 first made in its oppositions to Google's DMCA Motions. This Court has repeatedly admonished P 10 for its filing of unauthorized cross-motions and sur-replies and warned P 10 that it may be sanctioned for doing so again. Yet that is exactly what P10 has done by this Motion, in contravention of this Court's clear instructions, as well as the Local Rules, the Court's Scheduling and Case Management Order, and the Court's July 8, 2009 Order staying all briefing on P 10's cross-motion for summary judgment. P 10's Motion should be denied, and P10 should be sanctioned for filing it.I Argument L PIO ' S RE Q UEST FOR SANCTIONS IS GROUNDLESS. PLO's demand for evidentiary sanctions is without merit. As PTO's own authority demonstrates, dispositive evidentiary sanctions are a drastic remedy I Google made every attempt to address PI O's concerns through a meaningful conference of counsel, including by sending P 10 detailed meet and confer letters demonstrating that its accusations lacked any factual basis. P 10 persisted in bringing the present motion nonetheless. See Kassabian Decl. J¶ 2-9 and Exs. A-H. 28 01980.51320/3232216.2. GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS 1 reserved for the most egregious of litigation misconduct, such as spoliation of 2 evidence or willful violation of court orders. See, e.g., Arista Records LLC v. 3 Usenet. com, Inc., 633 F. Supp . 2d 124 , 140 (S.D . N.Y. 2009) (awarding evidentiary sanctions for repeated willful permanent deletion of critical relevant evidence and other intentional discovery abuses, where adverse-inference sanctions previously had been imposed yet misconduct continued, and became even more egregious );2 see also CFTC v. Noble Metals , Int'l, 67 F.3d 766, 772-73 (9th Cir . 1995) (evidentiary 8 sanctions awarded for intentional violation of a court order and repeated dilatory tactics ); Combs v. Rockwelllnt 'l Corp., 927 F.2d 486, 488 (9th Cir. 1991 ) (sanctions awarded for falsifying deposition).3 P 10's cited authority, Arista and Reilly, concerned spoliation of evidence and do not apply here. In Arista, the sanctioned party was guilty of several intentional acts of spoliation and misconduct and had been previously been sanctioned. 633 F. Supp. 2d at 140. This misconduct included (1) the intentional and permanent deletion of seven hard drives' worth of key data (id. at 135-36); (2) the intentional destruction of employee email that was responsive to discovery requests (id. at 136); (3) the intentional destruction of user histories that were critical to the disposition of the case (id. at 132); and (4) the purposeful engineering of witnesses' unavailability during fact discovery (id. at 137-38). Similarly, in Reilly, the defendant-after long asserting that the ex-employee plaintiff s deal documents did not exist-claimed to have recently "discovered" the documents, "some seven linear feet" in total, adjacent to plaintiffs old office. Reilly v. Natwest Markets Group, Inc., 181 F.3d 253, 260 (2d Cir. 1999). These documents were then produced on the day of the final pre-trial conference, with myriad damaging portions allegedly missing. Id. at 260-61. 3 See also Am. Stock Exch., LLC v. Mopex, Inc., 215 F.R.D. 87, 94-96 (S.D.N.Y. 2002) (precluding affirmative defense when defendant inexcusably failed to disclose it until one month after close of discovery); Logan v. Gary Community Sch. Corp., 2009 WL 187811, at * 1-2 (N.D. Ind. Jan. 23, 2009) (striking affirmative defenses when defendants had "a long history of noncompliance with Court Orders as well as the Federal and Local Rules of Civil Procedure" and when those defenses "relate to the substance of the discovery"); Ward v. Nat'l Geographic Soc'y, 2002 WL 27777, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 11, 2002) (preclusion of evidence is a "drastic remedy" to be imposed only "in those rare cases where a party's conduct represents flagrant bad (footnote continued) 01480.5132013232216.2 11 GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT 10'5 MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS 1 P 10's Motion does not raise even a single legitimate discovery dispute, much 2 less prove a violation of any court order. Every single supposedly missing category 3 of documents P10 references was either (1) produced (like Google 's DMCA logs), (2) non-existent (like Board meeting minutes referencing adult content), or (3) never even requested by P10 during discovery , let alone the subject of a discovery order (like third-party DMCA notices and Google ' s Blogger DMCA logs). Confirming the lack of basis for P 10's Motion, P 10 ignores the five-factor test governing evidentiary sanctions of this type. Specifically, in addition to proving a violation of a court order (which P10 cannot do), P10 must show that each of the following five factors weigh in favor of issuing evidentiary sanctions: (1) the public' s interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court's need to manage its docket; (3) the risk of prejudice to [the party seeking sanctions]; (4) the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits; and ( 5) the availability of less drastic sanctions. Wanderer v. Johnston, 910 F.2d 652, 656 (9th Cir. 1990 ) (alteration in original) (followed by Wendt v. Host-Intern., Inc., 125 F.3d 806, 814 (9th Cir. 1997)). As Wanderer observed , the Ninth Circuit has "found the element of prejudice to be essential , stating that sanctions which interfere with the litigants ' claim or defenses violate due process when they are imposed `merely for punishment of an infraction that did not threaten to interfere with the rightful decision of the case."' Id. (quotation omitted) (emphasis added). P 10 fails to address any of these elements. Nor could P10 meet this heavy burden. Asa preliminary matter, P10's own conduct demonstrates that it cannot even assert, let alone prove , any supposed prejudice flowing from any alleged DMCA- related discovery failures given its faith and callous disregard of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure," and declining to impose such a sanction for party' s failure to timely produce a document) (citations omitted). 01484 . 51320!3232216.2 -3GOOGLE' S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT 1 O'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS election to (1) file its own motion for summary judgment on the very same DMCA issues (implicitly conceding that more discovery was unnecessary), and (2) oppose Google's DMCA motions on the merits (rather than raising alleged discovery deficiencies). See Filiatrault v. Comverse Tech., Inc., 275 F.3d 131, 138 (1st Cir. 2001) (filing a cross-motion for summary judgment "almost invariably indicates that the moving party was not prejudiced by a lack of discovery."); Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(f). Even were P10 permitted to reverse course now and claim prejudice due to supposedly missing DMCA-related discovery, P1 O's Motion makes no such showing. P10's primary prejudice argument is that if Google had produced a "spreadsheettype" DMCA log, P 10 would have been able to discover "repeat infringers," as well as "other [unspecified] Google conduct making Google ineligible for safe harbor." Motion at 22. P 1O's prejudice argument is a non-starter, since Google did produce its text-searchable "spreadsheet-style" DMCA log documents, in compliance with the court's order, roughly a year before it filed for summary judgment. Declaration of Rachel Herrick Kassabian ("Kassabian Decl."), filed concurrently herewith, at IT 16, 22 and 27. Indeed, Google attached copies of those DMCA tracking spreadsheets to its DMCA Motions, and P 1O's opposition briefs refer to them at length-as Google's "DMCA logs," no less. See Section LA, infra. P 1O's related (albeit contradictory) argument that it was prejudiced by Google's production of its DMCA tracking spreadsheets in electronic TIFF format also falls flat. P10 omits the fact that its counsel expressly agreed to that format, in advance of Google's production of those documents. Kassabian Decl. ¶ 15, Ex. M. P 10 cannot claim prejudice regarding a production format to which it consented.4 4 Nor do any of the other Wanderer factors favor P 10. Google's DMCA Motions are fully-briefed and ripe for ruling on the merits. Granting the sanctions P 10 seeks would in fact be less expeditious than ruling on the motions themselves, since it will require the Court to consider extensive additional briefing and argument on all of 28 (footnote continued) 01980 .51320/3232216.2 -4GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS I Each of P 10's specific claims of discovery order violations are addressed-and refuted-below. A. Google Has Produced its "DMCA Logs , The bulk of P 10's arguments rely on a false factual premise-that Google allegedly failed to produce its "DMCA log," in violation of the Court's May 13, 2008 6 Order. In fact, Google did produce its DMCA tracking spreadsheets, and did so by 7 the date specified in that Order. Kassabian Decl. ¶ 16.5 P 10 insists that these 8 documents are not spreadsheets-but they are, as can be seen simply by looking at 9 them.6 Google filed excerpts of these documents with its DMCA Motions. See Poovala Decl. (Dkt. Nos. 433-45) ^T 37-38, 79- 81, 88, 93, and Exs. F, J, GG, HH, II, P 10's evidentiary side-shows. P 10's alternative proposal to appoint a special master would only serve to delay the case even further. Factors (1) and (2) thus weigh in Google's favor. Factor (4) obviously weighs against P 10, since its desired sanctions would resolve the DMCA issue on grounds other than its merits. And P 10 has made no showing that lesser sanctions are. not available (Factor 5). P 10 also claims that Google's production of DMCA documents violates the May 22, 2006 Order. See Motion at 7:6-7. Not so. P 10 refers to its Request No. 51, but that Request did not require production of a "DMCA log." Rather, it called for either a "DMCA log" or "other documents sufficient to identify all entities ... from whom Google has received a notice regarding an intellectual property violation." Kassabian Decl. Ex. 1. Google went with the latter option. The May 22 Order memorialized Google's agreement to produce such DMCA documents (id., Ex. J)which Google did, by producing third party DMCA notices back in 2006. Id. ¶ 12. 5 Google also later produced its "DMCA log" documents in 2008. Id. 11 16-17 6 Google's DMCA tracking spreadsheets were produced at In addition to additional responsive these spreadsheets, Google has produced documents which documented Google's processing of DMCA notices. See Kassabian Decl. Ex. N (sample DMCA processing documents in 5/1/08 production). Google provided P 10 with the exact Bates-ranges where all such documents could be found on June 13, 2008-more than a year before filing its DMCA Motions. Kassabian Decl., Ex. O (613108 email from A. Roberts to J. Mausner). 01980 .5132013232216.2 GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS KK, and LL). P10 itself even cited and discussed them in its opposition briefs, referring to them as Google's "DMCA logs." See, e.g., Blogger Opp. at 6:18-26; Search Opp. at 4:12-15. Also contrary to P 10's claim, these documents were produced in fully textsearchable electronic TIFF format, consistent with standard modern litigation practice. Declaration of Jonathan Land, dated December 7, 2009 and filed concurrently herewith ("Land Decl.") ¶ 4. P10 cannot complain about this format since its counsel expressly agreed to TIFF format in advance of Google's production. Kassabian Decl., Ex. M (4/30/08 email from Mausner).7 P 10 further argues that Google violated the May 13, 2008 Order by failing to include certain information in its log documents. See Motion at 3:5-21. That, too, is incorrect. That Order required Google to produce its DMCA logs. Kassabian Decl., Ex. L2 (5/13/08 Order, Dkt. No. 294) at 5. Google did so. Id. ¶ 16. That P10 might 7 P 10 accuses Google of improperly redacting portions of its DMCA processing documents "that it finds embarrassing or damning." Motion at 15. P 10 has no basis for this statement, nor is it true. The redactions to Google's spreadsheet documents were for attomey-client privileged and/or work product doctrine materials. See Kassabian Decl., Exs. BB-DD (meet-and-confer correspondence to P 10 explaining redactions). As for the Blogger DMCA tracking spreadsheet, Google produced this document with no redactions, as Google previously explained when P10 first raised this argument in its opposition to Google's DMCA Motions. See Blogger Reply at 7:12-14 and n.7. Nor is a motion for evidentiary sanctions the appropriate vehicle to challenge redactions for privilege. 28 01980.51320/3232216.2 -6 GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS have kept a different type of log is irrelevant.8 See Blogger Reply at 6:5-12. Google produced what it had and did not violate the May 13, 2008 Order.9 Finally, P 10 complains that Google violated the May 13, 2008 Order by failing 4 to produce its Blogger DMCA tracking spreadsheets by the June 16, 2008 production 5 deadline set by that Order. P10 is wrong again. The May 13, 2008 Order did not 6 require the production of any Blogger documents because (1) Blogger was not yet 7 part of the case and (2) P10 had not yet served discovery directed to Blogger. See Kassabian Decl. IT 20-22, Ex. Q (7/14/08 Hearing Transcript in which P10 disclosed its intention to serve Blogger-related discovery if its motion to add Blogger claims was granted); 7/16/08 Order (Docket No. 321). P 10 did not serve any Bloggerrelated discovery until September 1, 2009. Kassabian Decl. ¶ 23. Nonetheless, Google voluntarily produced the Blogger DMCA tracking spreadsheets on August 29, 2008, as a courtesy to P10, in advance of P10's Rule 30(b)(6) deposition of Google regarding DMCA issues. There has been no violation of any discovery order on this issue. Id. 122. See Precision Seed Co. v. Consol. Grain & Barge Co., 2006 WL 1339430, at *4 (S.D. Ohio May 16, 2006) (denying motion for sanctions where defendant "was not obliged to produce" the documents at issue in response to the Contrary to P 10's contention, P10 -not Google -provided the definition of what P10 considered to be "DMCA logs" in its discovery requests. Kassabian Decl., Exs. L (4/14108 Hearing Transcript) & L1 (P10's Opposition to Google's Objections to Magistrate Hillman's Order). That Google's DMCA tracking documents might not look exactly as P10 speculated they would is no basis for sanctions. 8 9 P 10 also claims that Google's supposed failure to produce its DMCA logs prevented P 10 from "discovering" the identity of one alleged "repeat infringer" Setting aside the falsity of P10's premise, P10 has never served a single discovery request regarding Google Groups. As such, Google was not obligated to produce any documents related to Google Groups, nor has any discovery order ever issued regarding Google Groups. See Kassabian Decl. 1 24. 27 P 10 has never even sent a DMCA notice regarding Google Groups. Poovala Rebuttal Decl. 1 24. This cannot form the basis for a demand for evidentiary sanctions. 28 01980,5132013232216.2 GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT 10'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS amended discovery request); see also Bermudez v. Duenas, 936 F.2d 1064, 1068 (9th Cir. 1991) (motion to compel was properly denied where documents had not yet been requested).10 B. Goole Has Produced Documents Regarding Its Repeat Infringer Policies. P10 next claims that Google violated the May 22, 2006 Order by failing to produce documents for Blogger or _ for AdSense. In fact, Google has complied with that Order by producing nonprivileged documents reflecting its repeat infringer policies. Included amongst these documents are Google's public-facing terms of service setting forth Google's repeat infringer policy, as well as the actual processing documents that reflect Google's implementation of its repeat infringer policies. See Poovala Decl, ¶T 5, 16, 26-27, & 36-39 and Exs. B, C, F, G (published policies), J, K & 11(DMCA tracking spreadsheets); Kassabian Decl. ¶ 26. P 10 insists that it did not receive a physical document that specifically states In fact, Google's Blogger tracking spreadsheet does state See Poovala Decl., Ex. J. In any event, this is wholly beside the point and exalts form over substance. Google scarcely need use the exact words P 10 would like in its internal documents, and is not required to create documents in response to document requests. See, e.g., Washington v. Garrett, 10 F3d 1421, 1437 (9th Cir. 1993) ("defendant was not required to create documents to satisfy ... discovery requests"). Nor was Google obligated to produce privileged documents referencing these policies. See Fed R. Relatedly, P 10 points out that it has sent 95 separate purported DMCA notices to Google in the past six weeks. Google is processing those notices to the fullest extent possible, given their deficiencies, as P 10 itself admits. See Motion at 20. This does not and cannot have any bearing on any discovery order. 01980 .5132013232216.2 -9- 10 GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT I0'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS I Civ. P.. 26(b)(1) (permitting "discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is 2 relevant"). Google produced the non-privileged, responsive documents it had, 3 including documents showing its enforcement of its - 4 -policy. See, e.g., Poovala Decl. ¶ 37 (referencing " 5 -when a blog account has been terminated pursuant to Blogger's 6 repeat infringer policy") & Ex. J (DMCA tracking spreadsheet showing accounts 7 terminated ). Additionally, Google produced all of 8 these documents in advance of 1`10's deposition of Google's Rule 30(b)(6) witnesses 9 regarding DMCA issues, and P 10 had the opportunity to ask whatever questions it 10 wished on these subjects. Kassabian Decl. ¶¶ 16 & 22. P10 cannot use its failure to 11 12 13 do so as a pretext for evidentiary sanctions. No court order has been violated. C. P10 Never Req uested Third -Par DMCA Notices. P 10 next argues that Google violated the May 22, 2006 Order by failing to 14 produce certain third-party DMCA notices. P 10 is wrong on two counts-P 10 never 15 requested them during discovery (nor does the May 22 Order require their 16 production), and in any event, Google has produced such documents. The relevant 17 request, Request No. 51, sought either Google's DMCA log or other documents 18 sufficient to identify third party DMCA complainants and the URLs complained of. 19 Google agreed to produce the latter category, and the May 22 Order simply reflects 20 that agreement. Kassabian Decl., Ex. J. Google produced those documents (third21 party DMCA notices) in the Spring of 2006. See Kassabian Decl. ¶ 12. Google also 22 supplemented that production with additional third-party DMCA notices and other 23 DMCA processing documents in November 2006 and May 2008. Kassabian Decl. 24 ¶T 12 & 16. Indeed, by May 2008, Google had produced more than _ pages of 25 third-party DMCA processing records spanning a more than six-year period. Id. ¶ 17. 26 Further, P 10's argument that Request No. 51 (or the Court's subsequent May 27 22, 2006 Order) required the production of third-party DMCA notices relating to 28 Blogger is incorrect. Again, P 10 did not add its Blogger claims until July 2008, and 01980 . 5 1 320/32 3 22 1 6 ,2 11 _9 GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT 10'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS did not serve discovery directed to Blogger until September 2009. Regardless, Google voluntarily produced the Blogger DMCA tracking spreadsheets in August 2008 (just one month after P10 added its Blogger claims), which satisfies Request No. 51.11 There has been no violation of any discovery order on this issue. Precision Seed Co., 2006 WL 1339430, at *4.12 D. Goode Has Produced Notices Of Termination Of Repeat Infringers. P 10 argues that Google has violated the May 22, 2006 Order by failing to produce DMCA termination notices. This is incorrect. Google has indeed produced termination emails . See Kassabian Decl. 125 and Ex. S (sample termination notices). Additionally, Google's DMCA tracking spreadsheets reflect DMCA terminations. See, e.g., Poovala Decl. ¶ 37 and Ex. J (Blogger spreadshee and Ex. LL (AdSense spreadshee the May 22, 2006 Order. 13 ); id. at ¶ 38 ). This production complies with E. Google Did Not Violate The May 22 , 2006 Order With Respect to Board Meeting Minutes. P 10 argues that Google "abused" the discovery process by failing to produce documents in response to the Court's Order calling for "minutes of board of director and other executive committee meetings that refer to, relate to or mention copyright 11 P 10 also claims that Google has not produced DMCA notices it received from the MPAA, RIAA, Microsoft and Playboy. Motion at 3-4. The notices P10 refers to concern Blogger, and as discussed above, P10 never requested third-party DMCA notices for Blogger, nor has the Court ordered their-production. 12 P 10 also claims that Google produced duplicate copies of some DMCA notices from 2004 and 2005 in May 2008 after it had already produced those notices in 2006. Zada Decl. 15. Google's re-production of these notices in no way violated any . discovery order, let alone even arguably constitutes a basis for evidentiary sanctions. 13 Moreover, to the extent P 10 refers to "notices of termination" regarding Blogger, P 10 has never served a document request asking for such documents, nor did the Court's May 22, 2006 Order require such a production, since Blogger was not at issue until July 2008. Kassabian Decl. 123; 7116108 Order (Dkt. No. 321). 28 01980.51320/3232216.2 -10GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT 10'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS I infringement, misappropriation of rights, or trademark infringement in connection 2 with adult content ...." Motion at 19. Not so. Google searched for responsive documents, and none were found. Kassabian Decl. ¶ 30. Indeed, Google specifically informed P10 of this fact in June 2008-over a year ago. Id. ¶ 30. P10's accusation that Google intentionally misled the Court on this issue is baseless and false. F. Goo le Did Not Violate The May 13 , 2008 Order With Res p ect to Re p orts Pertaining To Certain Custodians. P 10 takes issue with Google's responses to its Request Nos. 128-31 and 19495, claiming that Google produced no documents, so it must have violated the Court's May 13, 2008 Order. This is false. Google undertook a collection, review, and production process that took several weeks, and produced over _ pages of responsive documents. Kassabian Decl. 131 and Exs. H (11120109 meet-and-confer letter) and V (example of such documents). No discovery order has been violated here. G. There Is No Discover Order Req uirin g The Production of Communications Between Goo le And Third Par Com p lainants And Infrin ers. P10 contends that Google has not produced emails from Google to all copyright holders and all alleged infringers related to third-party DMCA notices. Motion at 18-19. P 10 first requested such communications in its Eleventh Set of Document Requests served on October 21, 2009 just six weeks ago. P10 has never met and conferred on this issue, nor filed a motion to compel, nor obtained a discovery order. See Kassabian Decl., Ex. P (Excerpts from P10's 11th Set of Document Requests). No discovery order has been violated here. DMCA In sum, P 10 has presented no factual or legal basis for evidentiary sanctions. Its Motion should be rejected. 28 01980 .5132013232216.2 -11GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS I II. 2 3 4 P10 'S MOTION FILED WITHOUT LEAVE OF COURT VIOLATES MULTIPLE COURT ORDERS AND THE LOCAL RULES. A. P10' s Motion Is An Im p ro p er Sur-reply, P10's motion for evidentiary sanctions is, in fact, a poorly disguised and 5 improper sur-reply to Google's DMCA Motions. P10 had ample time to prepare its 6 opposition papers, and has no basis to file such a sur-reply, especially without the 7 Court's leave. At P 10's request, Google stipulated to give P 10 nearly six weeks to 8 oppose its DMCA Motions (Dkt. Nos. 465 and 470). P10 had the opportunity to make whatever arguments it wanted, and it did, submitting 75 pages of briefing, 11 declarations and several hundred pages of exhibits. Briefing on those Motions is closed. Yet P10 continues to file more and more argument and purported "evidence"-first, a barrage of purported "Evidentiary Objections" and "Responses to Evidentiary Objections" (filed October 12, 2009), and now a purported "Motion for Evidentiary and Other Sanctions." This latest filing is in contravention of the Local Rules and the Court's Scheduling and Case Management Order. It should be rejected on this basis as well. Local Rule 7-10 mandates that "[a]bsent prior written order of the Court, the opposing party shall not file a response to the reply" in support of a motion. Paragraph III.C.5 of this Court's Scheduling and Case Management Order provides that "[t]he non-moving party may not file a sur-reply [regarding a summary judgment motion] unless the Court first grants leave to do so." Courts routinely strike or refuse to consider documents submitted in violation of these rules. See, e.g., Spalding Labs., Inc. v. Arizona Biological Control, Inc., 2008 WL 2227501, at * 1 n.2 (C.D. Cal. May 29, 2008) ("The Court strikes and does not consider Spalding's 14-page `suropposition' to ARBICO's reply brief") (citing Local Rule 7-10); DISC Intellectual Properties LLC v. Delman, 2007 WL 4973849, at * 1 n. I (C.D. Cal. Sept. 17, 2007) (rejecting "Defendants ... attempt[] to file a Response to Plaintiffs' Reply in violation 28 of Local Rule 7-10."). 01980 ,5132013232216.2 -12GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS No matter its title, P10's Motion is a blatant attempt to re-argue the merits of Google's DMCA Motions. Though P 10 claims to be raising "new" arguments prompted by "recently discovered" evidence, the Motion simply re-argues several 4 issues already covered in P10's summary judgment opposition briefs, including: 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 · · The contents and sufficiency of Google's "DMCA log" (Search Opp. at 2224; Search Reply at n.9); · Google'·s implementation of its repeat infringer policy (Search Opp. at 4-5; Search Reply at 2-6); · Google's alleged failure to track the, "identities" of alleged infringers (Blogger Opp. at 6; Blogger Reply at 9); Claims regarding Google Groups (Blogger Opp. at 17-18; Blogger Reply at 14-15 and n.10); · Purported redactions to Google's Blogger spreadsheet (Blogger Opp. at 2023; Blogger Reply at 7 and n.7); and · Google's tracking of alleged repeat infringers for Blogger and/or AdSense (Blogger Opp. at 6 and 9-10; Search Opp. at 4; Blogger Reply at 9). Plainly, there was no "recently-discovered evidence" to warrant filing a sur-reply much less to do so without first obtaining the required leave of court. P 10's Motion should be stricken and/or disregarded under Local Rule 7-10 and the Court's Scheduling and Case Management Order. Spalding Labs., 2008 WL 2227501, at * 1 n.2; DISC Intellectual Properties, 2007 WL 4973849, at *I n.1.14 14 P 10 has been admonished not to file improper sur-replies before. By its October 6, 2008 Minute Order regarding A9.com, lnc.'s summary judgment motion in the consolidated Amazon case, the Court instructed the parties to file narrow supplemental briefs limited to specific identified issues. Dkt. No. 170. P 10's filing far exceeded the scope of that Order, and included a six-page sur-reply and three lengthy supporting declarations. See Dkt. Nos. 194-207. Defendant A9.com moved to strike the sur-reply (Dkt. No. 201), and the Court granted the motion (Dkt. No. (footnote continued) 01980 .513201323221 6.2 -13GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS B. PTO's Motion Is An Im p ro p er Attempt To Revive Its Stayed CrossMotion For Summar y Jud g ment Regardin g DMCA Safe Harbor. P 10's Motion also violates another order-this Court's July 8, 2009 Order. Specifically, just a few days after Google filed its DMCA Motions, P10 filed (in contravention of this Court's Scheduling and Case Management Order) 15 its own cross-motion seeking summary judgment on the same issue of DMCA safe harbor (Dkt. Nos. 436-49, July 5, 2009). See Kassabian Decl., Ex. Y (P10's Motion for Summary Judgment at 5:27-28 (requesting summary judgment that "Google cannot rely upon any of the safe harbor defenses for service providers set forth in Section 512 of the DMCA ...."). On July 8, 2009, this Court vacated the hearing on P 10's cross-motion, stayed all further briefing thereon, and set a briefing schedule for Google's DMCA Motions. Id. Ex. AA (7/8/09 Order (Dkt. No. 453)). Though cast as a sanctions motion, PI O's Motion argues the purported merits of DMCA safe harbor and requests the very same relief it sought by way of its July 5 summary judgment cross-motion - "[t]hat Google be found be ineligible for the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA set forth in 17 U.S.C. §512." Motion at 23:9-12. P10's Motion is a thinly-disguised attempt to resuscitate its original (stayed) crossmotion, in contravention of the July 8 Order, and should be rejected on this additional basis. 16 220). Despite that Order, P 10 later filed a purported "cross-motion" for summary judgment against A9.com (Dkt. No. 275), forcing A9.com to move to strike once again. Dkt. Nos. 276-77 and 279. The Court granted A9.com's motion, noting that "Perfect 10's cross-motion was neither necessary nor authorized," and ruling that "A9 need not and should not file a response to the cross-motion." Dkt. No. 284. 15 See Scheduling and Case Management Order, § IILC.5 ("The parties shall avoid filing cross-motions for summary judgment on identical issues of law, such that the papers would be unnecessarily cumulative."). 16 This Court has repeatedly admonished P 10 regarding improper cross-motions. In the Amazon case, P 10 has tried three separate times to file improper cross-motions, (footnote continued) - 01980.51320/3232216.2 1 4- 000GLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT 10'8 MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS III. TO THE EXTENT P10'S MOTION IS CONSTRUED AS A "RULE 56(F) MOTION," IT IS UNTIMELY AND MERITLESS. P10 belatedly argues that it could not adequately oppose Google's DMCA Motions because it needs more discovery. To the extent the Court construes this argument as one brought under Rule 56(f), P 10 has waived it by repeatedly representing that the DMCA safe harbor issue is ripe for summary adjudicationincluding by filing its own summary judgment motion on that very issue, and by opposing Google's DMCA motions on the merits. 17 See Filiatrault, 275 F.3d at 138 (filing a cross-motion "almost invariably indicates that the moving party was not prejudiced by a lack of discovery."); Rodriguez- Cuervos v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 181 F.3 d 15, 23 (1 st Cir. 1999) ("Ordinarily, a party may not attempt to meet a summary judgment challenge head-on but fall back on Rule 56(f) if its first effort is unsuccessful."). Waiver aside, P10's argument is both untimely and meritless. A. P10' s Claims For Additional Discove Are Untimel y . . P10 urges that "newly discovered" discovery violations warrant its request for additional discovery before the Court rules on the pending DMCA Motions. In fact, none of the issues P10 raises is "newly discovered." For example, P10 makes a series of arguments regarding Google's "DMCA log." But the document request for calling for those documents (Request No. 196) was served in 2007; the Court Order requiring production of those documents issued May 13, 2008; Google produced responsive requiring three separate motions to strike by the Amazon Defendants---all of which were granted. See Kassabian Decl., Exs. EE; FF, and GG (Orders dated 11/4/08, 119109, and 718109 (Docket Nos. 220, 284, and 320)). In its January 9, 2009 Order; the Court cautioned P10 that its "cross-motion was neither necessary nor authorized." In its July 8, 2009 Order, the Court explicitly warned that "[i]f Mr. Mausner again files such cross-motions in either of the Perfect 10 cases, the Court may impose sanctions." Id., Ex. GG. P10 repeatedly has defied these warnings. See also Kassabian Decl., Ex. X (4123109 Letter from Jeffrey Mausner to Google); id., Ex. Z (Transcript of 914109 hearing before Judge Hillman, at 15:2-9). 17 28 01980 .51320/3232216,2 GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT 10'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS documents by the June 16, 2008 deadline and even provided P 10 with the exact control numbers where those documents could be located in June 2008 - 18 months ago. See Kassabian Decl., Ex. O (6113108 Email from A. Roberts to J. Mausner); see also id. ¶¶ 10-17 (describing Google's production of DMCA spreadsheets and additional DMCA processing documents ). Similarly , 1`10 raises a number of arguments about Blogger-related documents ( including Google 's DMCA tracking spreadsheets for Blogger ), but those documents were produced in August 2008 - 16 months ago . Kassabian Decl. T 22. If it believed any of this discovery was deficient, P 10 has no excuse for failing to timely make a Rule 56(f) motion at the time its opposition to Google's DMCA Motions were due. 18 B. P10 Discovery Request Does Not Comply With Rule 56(f). P 10's claimed need for additional discovery also is substantively deficient. A successful Rule 56 ( f) motion must include " ( a) a timely application which (b) specifically identifies [by affidavit] (c) relevant information, (d) where there is some basis for believing that the information sought actually exists ." Employers Teamsters Local Nos. 175 and 505 Pension Trust Fund v. Clorox Co., 353 F.3d 1125, 1129 (9th Cir. 2004) (citation omitted). The movant must also "proffer sufficient facts to show that the evidence sought ... would prevent summary judgment. " Chance v. Pac-Tel Teletrac Inc., 242 F.3d 11513 1161 n.6 (9th Cir. 2001). "Failure to comply with the requirements of Rule 56(f) is a proper ground for denying discovery and proceeding 18 Setting aside the fact that P10 has not even properly (let alone timely ) invoked Rule 56(f), that rule cannot be used to compensate for a party' s failure to diligently pursue discovery . E.g., Mackey v. Pioneer Nat'l Bank, 867 F.2d 520, 524 (9th Cir. 1989) ("A movant cannot complain if it fails diligently to pursue discovery before summary judgment"); Cal. Union Ins. Co. v. Am. Diversified Sav. Bank, 914 F.2d 1271, 1278 (9th Cir. 1990). Rule 56(f) cannot save P10 from its failure to propound document requests directed to Blogger until more than fourteen months after P 10 amended its complaint to add Blogger-related claims . Kassabian Dec. ¶ 23. 01980 .5132013232216.2 -16GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS to summary judgment." Brae Transp., Inc. v. Coopers & Lybrand, 790 F.2d 1439, 1443 (9th Cir. 1986). P 10 fails to address, let alone satisfy, these requirements. Its papers are 4 woefully untimely. The Mausner declaration merely authenticates documents, while 5 the Zada and Chou declarations fail to provide (a) any basis for believing that 6 allegedly "unproduced" evidence exists, (b) an explanation as to why the evidence is 7 relevant to Google's DMCA motions, or (c) how it would defeat those motions. The record on DMCA issues is extensive and more than sufficient to permit the Court to decide them. P10's Motion seeks to cloud that clear reality-and delay a ruling on DMCA safe harbor-by suggesting that this record is somehow incomplete. But P10 never raised any issue regarding this record at the time of Google's document productions, Google's depositions, or even in its oppositions to Google's DMCA Motions. Even this untimely Motion fails to raise any genuine issues of fact. Rule S 6(f) cannot save P 10. IV. EVEN IF THE COURT CONSIDERS NO'S IMPROPERLY-RAISED SUBSTANTIVE ARGUMENTS, NONE HAVE MERIT. P 10 makes a bevy of substantive accusations in hopes of creating the appearance of some factual dispute that is somehow relevant to Google's DMCA Motions. To the extent the Court elects to consider P 10's untimely and improper arguments going to the substance of Google's DMCA Motions and the evidence presented thereon, however, none of those arguments passes muster. P 10 failed to demonstrate any disputed issue of material fact in its opposition papers, and it fails to do so in this Motion as well. A.. Google' s AdSense DMCA Tracking Spreadsheets Are Not Deficient. P10 makes a variety of claims regarding the contents of Google's AdSense DMCA tracking spreadsheets, none of which is correct. For instance, P 10 claims that 27 the AdSense spreadsheets date back only to 28 01980 .5132013232216.2 . This is false-Google -17GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS produced AdSense tracking spreadsheets dating back to Decl., Ex. T (AdSense spreadsheet at GGL 044911-044928). Kassabian Next, P10 rehashes its argument from its Oppositions to Google's DMCA Motions that the AdSense DMCA tracking spreadsheets purportedly should contain thousands of Blogger URLs but do not. P10 is wrong, and Google has already explained why it is unnecessary to "double-process" a webpage that has been taken down pursuant to Google 's Blogger DMCA policy. See Blogger Reply at n.8; Poovala Decl. ¶¶ 37, 93. Further, P10 argues the AdSense spreadsheets do not contain certain URLs identified by P10. P10 again is incorrect . The 2006-2008 spreadsheet Google filed with its DMCA motions in fact does contain UR.Ls identified by P10. Poovala Decl. ¶ 94, and Ex. LL at 1698-1702. Additionally, the URLs allegedly identified in P10's 2004-2005 notices were processed for AdSense separately from other third-party notices . Id. ¶ 94 (explaining processing ), and Ex. LL at 1683-1697; see also Mausner Decl.(Docket No. 482), Ex. K (Botelho Decl. ISO Google's Opp. to Motion for Preliminary Injunction). P10 asserts Google has received multiple notices regarding rapidshare . com that are not tracked on the AdSense spreadsheet. This is false . The notices P10 references do not allege AdSense infringement nor even that Google is offering Web Search links to the allegedly infringing rapidshare . com pages. Instead, these notices complain of individual Blogger posts that link to rapidshare.com pages where 22 content can be downloaded (which content Google does not index).. See Search 23 Motion at 9; Haahr Decl. ¶ 14-15. Accordingly, they are tracked in the Blogger 24 DMCA tracking spreadsheets . See Poovala Decl. 1126-37, 88-89, & 93. 25 26 Finally, P10 claims that the AdSense spreadsheets do not contain he identities of the infringers. This is irrelevant . There is no 27 requirement in the DMCA to track " identities" as P 10 uses the term (see Blogger 28 Reply at 9), and 01980 .51320/3232216.2 it is unclear GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS what harm P10 is claiming. See Dkt. No. 635. Again, Google is not required to create documents in response to discovery requests-it produced the responsive documents it had, as they are created and kept.'9 B. Goo de's Blo er DMCA Trackin g S p readsheets Are Not Deficient. P10 next claims that Blogger URLs in its notices are not reflected on the Blogger DMCA tracking spreadsheets. This is false. Blogger removals corresponding to P10's claimed DMCA notices are indeed tracked on Google's Blogger spreadsheets. See Poovala Decl. ¶ 93 and Ex. KK at 1510--1681. P 10 further incorrectly argues that Google somehow "conceals" the hosting of various websites. While Google allows Blogger users to customize their URLs if they choose, all blogs hosted by Google are subject to the same Blogger DMCA policies. Kassabian Decl. ¶ 28; Poovala Dec. ¶¶ 26 & 27, and Exs. F & G. Indeed, this is demonstrated by Dr. Zada's own declaratio Zada Decl. 13 1. The fact that Google hosts these pages is publicly available information (Kassabian Decl. Ex. U), and Dr. Zada's own declaration confirms that Google has tracked DMCA complaints and removed 18 infringing content from those pages pursuant to Blogger's repeat infringer policies. .19 Zada Decl. ¶ 31. 20 21 22 19 P10 also claims that Google violated its repeat infringer policy for AdSense 24 account holders in notices it processed "by continuing to place its ads next to the same infringing Perfect 10 images on the same infringing websites ." Motion at 20. 25 This is incorrect and has been previously addressed. .26 See Search Motion at 7 27 and 16; Poovala Decl. T¶ 37-38 and 94. 28 0 1980.51320/3232216.2 C. P10' s Alleeations Of Inconsistencies Between Google ' s Tracking Spreadsheets And Other DMCA Documents Are Incorrect. 23 - l 9G000LE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS 1 P 10 contends that there are "inconsistencies" between Google's spreadsheet 2 documents and other documents related to Google's DMCA processing records. This 3 is incorrect and irrelevant. Specifically, P 10 claims 4 5 6 . Motion at 18. But as Google's DMCA Motions make clear, E See Poovala Decl. T¶ 14, 26-335 37& 77; Haahr Decl. IT 4-14. There is no discrepancy here. V. P10'S REQUEST FORA SPECIAL MASTER IS UNWARRANTED AND UNNECESSARY. P 10's request for the appointment of a special master misses the mark. As noted above, P10's Motion raises no legitimate discovery issues, so the appointment of a special master to investigate them is unnecessary. But even assuming arguendo that there was any merit to any of P 10's allegations, the appointment of a special master under Fed. R. Civ. P. 53 is not warranted here. In pretrial matters, "special masters are to be used sparingly and only where the use of the court's time is not justified." Nat'l Assn of Radiation Survivors v. Turnage, 115 F.R.D. 543, 560 (N.D. Cal. 1987) (quoting La Buy v. Howes Leather Co., 352 U.S. 249, 259, reh'g denied, 352 U.S. 1019 (1957)). Because "[t]he evils of delay and added expense are both inherent in references," it has long been the case that the appointment of a special master is disfavored. In re Irving-Austin Bldg. Corp., 100 F.2d 574, 577 (7th Cir. 1938). Indeed, the plain text of Rule 53 indicates that the appointment of a special master in pretrial matters is limited only to those cases "that cannot be effectively and timely addressed by an available district judge or magistrate judge of the district." Fed. R. Civ. P. 53(a)(1)(C). 01980,51320/3232216.2 GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS I Here, P 10 does not request wholesale reference of discovery matters to a 2 special master (as the Court previously considered in late 2008); rather, P 10 seeks 3 appointment of a special master solely to investigate its handful of purported DMCA 4 discovery disputes, and to rule on Google's DMCA Motions (already on file and 5 under submission with this Court). P 10 does not even attempt to explain why this 6 appointment is necessary, nor why this Court is not competent to adjudicate P10's 7 instant Motion and Google's pending DMCA Motions. P10's impatience and 8 intolerance for how this Court properly chooses to manage its heavy docket is not a valid ground for seeking a special master. P10's request should be denied. V1. PERFECT 10 SHOULD BE SANCTIONED. P 10's Motion is frivolous and improper. P10 has been repeatedly admonished against filing such supplemental briefing, and it has been explicitly warned that it could be sanctioned for doing so. Yet P 10 went forward with this Motion anyway, in violation of Local Rules and Court Orders and based solely on demonstrable falsehoods, mi s characterizations and baseless speculation. Monetary sanctions are properly imposed for "willfulness, bad faith, or fault" of a party or its counsel, including for filing frivolous motions. See, e.g., Young v. Polo Retail, LLC, 2007 WL 951821, at *9-10 (N.D. Cal. March 28, 2007) (awarding monetary sanctions for filing of a frivolous motion); Continental Air Lines, Inc. v. Group Systems Intern. Far East, Ltd., 109 F.R.D. 594, 600 (C.D. Cal. 1986) (same); United States v. Kahaluu Constr. Co., Inc., 857 F.2d 600, 603 (9th Cir. 1988); B.K.B. v. Maui Police Dept, 276 F.3d 1091, 1108 (9th Cir. 2002) ("an attorney's reckless misstatements of law and fact, when coupled with an improper purpose, ...are sanctionable under a court's inherent power.") (citation omitted). See also Notes 14 and 16, supra (referencing the Court's 26 prior admonishments to P 10 regarding such improper motions). P 10 should be 27 sanctioned in the amount of $5,000, payable to the Court, and further should be 28 01980 .5132013232216.2 -21000GLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT IO'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS 1 admonished that any future violations of Orders and Local Rules will subject it to 2 issue preclusion sanctions. Conclusion For the foregoing reasons, Google requests that PI O's Motion be denied and/or stricken in its entirety, and that P10 be sanctioned in the amount of $5,000. DATED: December 9, 2009 QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART OLIVER & HEDGES, LLP By Rachel Herrick Kassabian Attorneys for Defendant GOOGLE INC. 24 25 26 27 28 01980.5132013232216,2 -22GOOGLE'S CORRECTED OPPOSITION TO PERFECT 10'S MOTION FOR EVIDENTIARY AND OTHER SANCTIONS

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